Do you keep getting small, rough bumps on your skin? Do you keep cutting it off and it still comes back? Then you may have viral wart.

Common warts are small, grainy skin growths that occur most often on the fingers, or hands. They are rough to touch and have tiny black dots which are the clotted blood vessels. They are caused by a virus and are transmitted by touch.

It should not be confused with plantar war, as plantar means bottom of the foot. The viral wart is caused by the HPV virus, which is the human papillomavirus.

Why Should You Not Cut It Off?

If you cut the war yourself, then it can cut the blood vessels, leading to excessive bleeding. This can lead to koebnerization or the Koebner phenomenon (KP). This was first described in 1876 by Heinrich Koebner, it is the appearance of new skin lesion on previously unaffected skin secondary to trauma.

This condition is most common in people with psoriasis, however, it is not as common in people with warts, vitiligo and lichen planus, though it can still occur. When a skin injury penetrates your skin's top layer or the epidermis and middle layer, which is the dermis, it may cause Koebner phenomenon.

How Can You Treat Viral Warts?

You can use over the counter salicylic acid, as it is a common remedy which works by softening and gradually peeling away the infected skin. Regular application of it can break down the wart tissue over time.

Another common way is duct tape, which is used as an alternative treatment. The wart is covered for extended periods, which helps suffocate and weaken the war and makes it easier to remove after exfoliation.

Freezing is another technique, also known as cryotherapy. This involves freezing the war with liquid nitrogen, is a more aggressive treatment that causes the wart to blister and eventually fall off. This is usually performed by a healthcare professional, though at-home freezing kits are available.

However, improper use of these treatments can cause irritation or skin damage, thus it is important to go see a doctor and seek proper medical guidance.

Health experts are raising alarms as H5N1 bird flu spreads rapidly across US dairy farms. Since March 2024, over 1,000 dairy herds have been affected across the country, leading to over 70 infections and at least one confirmed death. H5N1 is a strain of the influenza virus that primarily infects birds, but can also infect humans.

Global Virus Network (GVN) warns that a continued presence of this virus in mammals increases the risk of mutations that could be human-to-human transmission. They emphasise the urgency of the enhanced surveillance, standardising testing and vaccination strategies for both animals and farmworkers. "Understanding the current landscape of H5N1 infections is critical for effective prevention and response," said Sten H Vermund, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of the GVN and dean of the USF Health College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, USA. "The virus's ability to infect both animals and humans, combined with recent genetic changes, underscores the importance of proactive surveillance and rapid response measures," he added.

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CDC Asks Residents To Follow Precautions

Despite the outbreak, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the risk to the general public remains low.

However, they stress the importance of precautions, especially for those in close contact with infected animals. As per the CDC, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu is widespread in birds and is causing outbreaks in poultry and US dairy cows. While the current public health risk is low, the CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures. CDC is using its flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5 bird flu activity in people.

What To Do To Protect Yourself

• As a general precaution, whenever possible, people should avoid direct contact with sick or dead wild birds, poultry, dairy cows and other animals and observe them only from a distance.
• If you must have direct/close contact with sick or dead wild birds, poultry, or other animals, wear recommended personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Do not touch surfaces or materials (e.g., animal litter or bedding material) contaminated with saliva, mucus, or animal feces from wild or domestic birds, dairy cows, or other animals with confirmed or suspected avian influenza A virus infection.
• Do not touch or consume raw milk or raw milk products, especially from animals with confirmed or suspected avian influenza A virus infection or in areas known to have infected herds.

What Do You Do When You Find A Dead Animal Or Bird?

• If you find a sick or dead wild bird or other animal
• First, check with your local and State governments about their policies for collecting dead and testing sick or dead animals.
• You can contact health departments or state wildlife agencies for information about reporting animals that look sick or dead in your area.
• People should avoid unprotected (not using respiratory and eye protection) exposures to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals.
• Wildlife agencies regularly investigate reports of sick or dead animals. This type of reporting could help with the early detection of illnesses like West Nile virus or H5N1 bird flu.
• If local authorities tell you to throw away the bird's carcass (body), don't touch it with your bare hands. Use gloves or a plastic bag turned inside out to place the body in a garbage bag, which can then be thrown away in your regular trash.

A new generation of oral weight loss medications could transform the fight against obesity and diabetes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), health experts say. In almost all high-income countries like the UK, injectable drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, containing semaglutide and tirzepatide, respectively, have proven highly effective. These medications not only aid in losing more than 10% of body weight but also help manage type 2 diabetes. However, their high cost, need for refrigeration, and injectable format have limited their accessibility in resource-limited settings.

Now, researchers believe that oral medications under development could be a game-changer. These pills are expected to be cheaper, easier to transport, and not require refrigeration, making them far more practical in LMICs where obesity and diabetes are rising rapidly.

"Medicines that reduce diabetes and heart disease risk—while also helping with weight loss—could offer significant benefits in countries where waistlines are expanding fast,” said Professor Naveed Sattar, a cardiometabolic medicine expert at the University of Glasgow.

Dr Louis Aronne, an obesity medicine specialist at Weill Cornell Medical College, echoed the optimism. “We’re moving towards a future where doctors will treat obesity before it leads to complications,” he said. His recent research showed that tirzepatide reduced the risk of developing diabetes by more than 90% in people with pre-diabetes and obesity over a three-year period.

One oral drug gaining attention is orforglipron, a once-daily pill developed by Eli Lilly. Like semaglutide, orforglipron mimics GLP-1, a hormone that boosts insulin production and helps people feel full longer. A recent 40-week clinical trial found that orforglipron lowered blood sugar levels and promoted weight loss on par with injectable semaglutide.

While semaglutide is already available in pill form, it requires a higher dose to match the injectable version's results. It must also be taken on an empty stomach, with no food for at least 30 minutes afterward. Orforglipron, being a small molecule, resists digestion and can be taken with food—potentially at a lower dose and cost.

Experts caution that more studies are needed. Orforglipron’s safety profile must be thoroughly evaluated, especially after Pfizer halted development of a similar drug due to potential liver toxicity. It’s also not yet clear if orforglipron reduces cardiovascular risks like heart attacks and strokes, benefits that have been observed with semaglutide.

Nevertheless, scientists are hopeful. “Once obesity is established, diet alone isn’t enough for most people,” said Aronne. “Medication becomes essential, especially since obesity alters brain function related to appetite and metabolism.”

Addressing obesity is especially urgent in ethnically diverse populations. “South Asians, Black individuals, and other groups develop type 2 diabetes at lower weight thresholds," Sattar noted. “Even small increases in obesity in these populations can lead to significant surges in diabetes rates.”

Sattar concluded, "The more safe, effective, and affordable weight loss medications we have—especially in oral form—the better the chances of improving global health."

The unpalatable, gooey and much-hated substance we often rush to clean out of our ears is gaining unexpected scientific attention. Earwax—also known as cerumen—has long been considered an annoying by-product of the body. While its primary purpose remains debated, researchers now agree that earwax plays a vital role in protecting our ears and, intriguingly, may hold the key to unlocking critical insights into our health.

Functionally, earwax acts as a natural barrier. It traps bacteria, fungi, dirt, and other particles before they can enter and infect the inner ear. It also provides lubrication, preventing the skin inside the ear canal from becoming dry or itchy. Yet, due to its unappealing look and lack of immediate clinical relevance, earwax has been largely ignored in scientific research—until recently.

Women With Wet Earwax Have Higher Chances Of Breast Cancer

Beyond genetics, earwax has started to emerge as a diagnostic tool. Researchers are using modern analytical techniques to examine the chemical and biological compounds in earwax, searching for indicators of disease. For example, a pioneering study in 1971 by Dr. Nicholas L. Petrakis at the University of California, San Francisco, observed that Caucasian, African-American, and German women in the U.S. with wet earwax had nearly four times the risk of breast cancer compared to Japanese or Taiwanese women with dry earwax.

Building on this, a 2010 study by the Tokyo Institute of Technology examined blood samples from 270 Japanese women with invasive breast cancer and compared them to 273 healthy controls. They found a strong correlation between the presence of the wet earwax gene and the incidence of breast cancer. Women with the gene were up to 77% more likely to develop the disease, suggesting a genetic link that could help in early risk assessment.

Earwax May Also Contain Traces Of COVID-19

Recent studies are also exploring whether earwax can contain traces of COVID-19 and help differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Some early research even hints that biomarkers in earwax could aid in identifying certain heart diseases, although these findings are still in preliminary stages, and blood tests remain the gold standard for diagnosis.

Another promising area involves Meniere’s disease, a chronic condition that causes episodes of vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus. Researchers are investigating whether compounds in earwax can help track this inner ear disorder more reliably and less invasively than current methods.